A new Russian-U.S. arms reduction treaty is expected to be submitted to the Russian Federal Assembly by the end of May, a top Russian senator said on Friday.
The new arms treaty, signed on April 8 in Prague, replaces the 1991 pact that expired in December last year. The deal is expected to bring Moscow and Washington to a new level of cooperation in the field of nuclear disarmament and arms control.
Mikhail Margelov, who heads the Russian upper house's international relations committee, said the simultaneous ratification processes are ensured by the beginning of work on the text of the pact in parliament and "this [preparatory] work has been ongoing for a long time already in the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation."
U.S. President Barack Obama told his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev last week the United States had already submitted the document for ratification to the Senate.
"Today, we have very seriously, thoroughly, and thoughtfully discussed this issue with experts from the Russian Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry," Margelov said.
On May 27, the Russian Federation Council will hold a joint meeting of international and defense committees with the participation of the principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, James Miller, on the preparation of ratification procedures.
The U.S. and Russian presidents earlier agreed that the ratification processes should be simultaneous.
The new treaty on strategic arms cuts stipulates that the number of nuclear warheads be reduced to 1,550 on each side over seven years, while the number of delivery vehicles, both deployed and non-deployed, must not exceed 800.
MOSCOW, May 21 (RIA Novosti)
